{"title":"Curtis Fuller","description":"\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"\u003eBorn Curtis DuBois Fuller on 15 December 1932 in Detroit, Curtis Fuller was an American jazz trombonist whose fluid technique and ambitious solos made him a mainstay of the hard bop scene. His father, who had immigrated from Jamaica, died from tuberculosis before Fuller was born, and his mother died when he was nine, leading him to spend several years in an orphanage run by Jesuits. A nun took him to see Illinois Jacquet's band featuring J.J. Johnson on trombone, sparking his passion for jazz. Fuller attended Cass Tech High School with fellow students Paul Chambers, Donald Byrd, Tommy Flanagan, Thad Jones, and Milt Jackson. After attempting violin then baritone horn, he took up trombone at age 16. He served in the US Army from 1953 to 1955, playing in an army band with Chambers and Cannonball and Nat Adderley, then worked in Detroit with Kenny Burrell and Yusef Lateef before moving to New York in 1957.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"\u003eFuller's New York breakthrough was astonishing: in his first nine months, he recorded eight times as leader and appeared on 15 sessions as sideman, including John Coltrane's \u003cem\u003eBlue Train\u003c\/em\u003e. Alfred Lion of Blue Note first heard Fuller with Miles Davis in the late 1950s, leading to four dates as leader for Blue Note including \u003cem\u003eThe Opener\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eBone \u0026amp; Bari\u003c\/em\u003e, and appearances on sessions with Sonny Clark, Bud Powell, Jimmy Smith, Wayne Shorter, Lee Morgan, and Joe Henderson. Fuller became the first trombonist in the Art Farmer-Benny Golson Jazztet in 1959, then joined Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers in 1961, staying until 1965. He recorded for Impulse!, Savoy, Epic, and United Artists, toured Europe with Dizzy Gillespie's big band in 1968, and toured with Count Basie from 1975 to 1977. He co-led \u003cem\u003eGiant Bones\u003c\/em\u003e with Kai Winding in 1979-1980 and toured Europe regularly with the Timeless All-Stars throughout the 1980s.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"\u003eFuller was granted an honorary doctorate from Berklee College of Music in 1999 and honoured as 2007 NEA Jazz Master. He continued performing and recording whilst teaching at the New York State Summer School of the Arts. Fuller died on 8 May 2021 aged 88.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"hank-mobley-billy-root-curtis-fuller-lee-morgan-monday-night-at-birdland-1977-japanese-roulette-vinyl-lp","title":"Hank Mobley \/ Billy Root \/ Curtis Fuller \/ Lee Morgan - Monday Night at Birdland (1977 Japanese Roulette Vinyl LP)","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eVinyl\u003c\/b\u003e: EX\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSleeve\u003c\/b\u003e:\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eVG+\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eObi:\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003eNone\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOur grading system explained \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/dpbg4u-d1.myshopify.com\/pages\/secondhand-grading-guide\"\u003e\u003cb\u003ehere\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003cbr\u003ePhoto is of the actual item.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHank Mobley \/ Billy Root \/ Curtis Fuller \/ Lee Morgan - \u003cem\u003eMonday Night at Birdland\u003c\/em\u003e Vinyl LP - 1977 Japanese Roulette Birdland Series Stereo Reissue\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli class=\"whitespace-normal break-words pl-2\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eLive hard bop at its most uninhibited\u003c\/strong\u003e, recorded at Birdland on 21 April 1958 during Symphony Sid's legendary Monday night sessions for young musicians\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli class=\"whitespace-normal break-words pl-2\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eA 19-year-old Lee Morgan\u003c\/strong\u003e leading the front line alongside Curtis Fuller and Hank Mobley, with Ray Bryant on piano and Specs Wright on drums\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli class=\"whitespace-normal break-words pl-2\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eFour extended performances\u003c\/strong\u003e including \"Walkin'\" and \"Bag's Groove\", the kind of open blowing vehicles that allowed this front line to stretch\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli class=\"whitespace-normal break-words pl-2\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003e1977 Japanese Roulette Birdland Series stereo pressing\u003c\/strong\u003e, manufactured by Nippon Columbia Co., Ltd.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRecorded live at Birdland, New York City on 21 April 1958 and originally released on Roulette the same year, \u003cem\u003eMonday Night at Birdland \u003c\/em\u003ecaptures the Monday night sessions that disc jockey Symphony Sid hosted at the club when the regular bill was off and the younger musicians came in to play. The front line of Lee Morgan on trumpet, Curtis Fuller on trombone, and Hank Mobley on tenor, with Billy Root on additional saxophone, Ray Bryant on piano, Tommy Bryant on bass and Specs Wright on drums, is an extraordinary gathering of hard bop talent at a moment when all of them were ascending. Morgan in particular commands attention: he was 19 years old at the time of the recording, already in possession of the clear, full-toned attack and rhythmically assertive phrasing that would define his Blue Note recordings across the decade ahead. The four tracks selected for this pressing, \"Walkin'\", \"All the Things You Are\", \"Bag's Groove\" and \"There Will Never Be Another You\", are the kind of open blowing vehicles that suited the Birdland setting, long enough to allow the front line to develop ideas at length without the constraints of a studio session. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMobley's tenor sits at the centre of the session, his characteristically warm, slightly smoky tone providing a point of contrast to Morgan's brightness and Fuller's French horn-like richness. Ray Bryant's piano comping, assured and rhythmically grounded, holds the rhythm section together beneath Specs Wright's drums across four performances that run as extended jam sessions rather than tightly arranged set pieces. Released in Japan in 1977 on Roulette (YW-7812-RO) as part of the Birdland Series and manufactured by Nippon Columbia Co., Ltd., this pressing presents a live document of hard bop at street level, not a Blue Note session under Van Gelder's microphones but musicians playing for a room, the energy of the performance intact.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Roulette","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43244579422267,"sku":null,"price":45.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0630\/3203\/3339\/files\/IMG_6273.jpg?v=1772229000"}],"url":"https:\/\/lushliferecords.com.au\/collections\/curtis-fuller.oembed","provider":"Lush Life Records","version":"1.0","type":"link"}